By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post
HAYS, Kan. – Caleb Heavner passed for 302 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 97 yards and a score in his first collegiate start and 0Fort Hays State defeated No. 12 Central Missouri 31-21 in front of a homecoming crowd of 7,125 Saturday night at Lewis Field.
The Tigers (3-2, 2-1 MIAA) scored on their first possession on a 1-yard touchdown run from Shane Watts that capped a nine-play, 53-yard drive. FHSU had an 18-yard pass from Heavner to Watts and a 14-yard run by Heavner to help set up the score.
Central Missouri tied the game on a 36-yard touchdown pass from reigning Harlon Hill Trophy winner Zach Zebrowski to C'ing Blanton on fourth down. The Tigers responded on their next possession, marching 75 yards in five plays. Heavner had a key 31-yard run and a 36-yard pass to Jabari Lewis. Heavner capped the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Horace give them a 14-7 lead.
Later in the second quarter, Heavner found Ryan Allen on a short pass. Allen broke a tackle and raced 40-yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 halftime lead.
After neither team scored in the third quarter, FHSU added a career-long 46-yard field goal from from Carson Arndt to push the lead to 24-7.
Central Missouri closed the gap to 10 points with a 75-yard touchdown pass from Zebrowski to Zach Patterson on the Mules first play from scrimmage on their next possession. The Tigers answered with a 7-play, 65-yard touchdown drive which was capped by a Heavner 38-yard scramble to push the score to 31-14.
The Mules added a final touchdown with just over a minute to go, but the Tigers recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock for the victory.
Heavner completed 24-of-30 passes for 302 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 97 yards and a score and finished with 399 yards of total offense. Horace had seven catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. Makel Williams led the FHSU defense with 14 tackles, while Kobe Rome added 11 and John Johnson 10.
FHSU generated 445 yards of total offense, while UCM had 533. Zebrowski, the nation's top passing quarterback, finished with 471 yards through the air. Patterson had 232 receiving yards for the Mules on 10 catches.
HOME SWEET HOME
Fort Hays State improved to 4-1 at home against Central Missouri teams that are ranked in the FCA Top 25 and run their winning streak over ranked Mules team at home to four-straight.. It's Fort Hays State's first Homecoming win over a ranked team since 2021 when they knocked off Nebraska-Kearney, also ranked No. 12 at the time.
LARGE CROWD
The crowd of 7,135 fans was the largest since Homecoming in 2018 when 7,140 attended a shutout win over Central Oklahoma.
UP NEXT
Fort Hays State is back at home next Saturday night against Washburn. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Lewis Field.